Posted on Feb 21, 2025
If you could enact one change at the VA that would go into effect nationwide, what would it be?
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Recently, I've been dealing with several scheduling conflicts when it comes to getting stuff done through the VA. Whether it is the fact that they only call when I am at work or that they can only fill the need for appointments during my work hours, it is a nightmare. If I could make a change, it would be to the business hours of the VA, shifting it later by two or three hours, to allow for easier access for those of us who work full-time jobs, usually 9-5.
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Healthcare
Disabled Veterans
Posted 5 mo ago
Responses: 23
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MAJ Byron Oyler
SPC Daniel Brown - Absolutely not. Service begins when you sign at MEPS and if you dont graduate basic, you are still considered having served.
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A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney
SGT Joseph Gunderson -
About 99% SURE ~!~ ALL VETS
Contact Benefits.Gov They Have A Sh*t Load Of Info..
About 99% SURE ~!~ ALL VETS
Contact Benefits.Gov They Have A Sh*t Load Of Info..
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Hiring younger doctors. Over the past 4-5 years, my PC doctors were elderly. Thye came to VA to beef up their retirement I suppose.
One was 62, one was 70, and my current doctor is over 80.
We need younger medical personal that will stick around awhile.
One was 62, one was 70, and my current doctor is over 80.
We need younger medical personal that will stick around awhile.
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SSgt Troy Rinehart
I would love to see doctor retention improved. I've been using the VA for 15 years and doing my yearly appointments. Only once have I seen a doctor two years in a row. At the Denver VA I had a different doctor every few months. This wastes so much time because they have to read your entire medical history at your first appointment with them.
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SGT Joseph Gunderson
The problem is that young doctors usually have a boatload of debt, and the private sector offers more opportunities to earn money to pay off that debt quickly.
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SFC Larry Jones
I can sympathize. I am in Central Arkansas and had that situation for a while. Those guys finally retired. !y PC now is a young attractive female who knows her stuff but more importantly CARES. I look forward to my visits with her.
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A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney
MSG Stan Hutchison -
NOPE ~ I Erased It ~ I'm Tired Of The Fa-King VA.
They Damned Near Killed Me ~ THEN Medicated Me For A Mental Health Condition
I Did NOT Have ~~ I Was A Fruit-Cake For About A Decade. A Mental Basket Case,
CAUSED By The Fa-King MEDICATIONS I Did NOT Need., ~ Far More To It, But I'm STILL So Pizzed Off About It ~~ THE END ~Sumbitchez-!
NOPE ~ I Erased It ~ I'm Tired Of The Fa-King VA.
They Damned Near Killed Me ~ THEN Medicated Me For A Mental Health Condition
I Did NOT Have ~~ I Was A Fruit-Cake For About A Decade. A Mental Basket Case,
CAUSED By The Fa-King MEDICATIONS I Did NOT Need., ~ Far More To It, But I'm STILL So Pizzed Off About It ~~ THE END ~Sumbitchez-!
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I want to see consequences. There's no consequences for being bad at the VA, whether that's running the PHX hospital that was running two sets of wait lists or its providers ignoring patients. There has to be repercussions for bad behavior, and rewards for good behavior. The people that work at VA's aren't doing it out of the goodness of the hearts (for the most part), for many it's still a job that pays the bills, and part of their longer careers.
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A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney
[~1938997: SPC Daniel Brown
Here's My GUESS, Based In Years Of Experience Having To Deal With These SOB's;
They Never Admit To Any Errors ~ To Do So Is An Admission Of Guilt ~
Easier To lie To Us And Put Us The Position Of PROVING Them Wrong.
They'll Stall And Be Uncooperative, Pass The Buck Around While Hoping We'll Just Give Up And Stop Bothering Them With Our Problems ~ I've Been Fighting These SOB'S For Over 3 YEARS To Get A Portable Oxygen Machine, Which I've Qualified For THREE Time And AM Entitled To. Having COPD I've Been Stuck In The House Without One For Many Years. ~
And Can Only Travel To And From Medical Appointments, And Must Be Placed In A Van Which Accommodates Wheel Chairs. ~~ And THIS Is One Of The MINOR Issues~!~
Here's My GUESS, Based In Years Of Experience Having To Deal With These SOB's;
They Never Admit To Any Errors ~ To Do So Is An Admission Of Guilt ~
Easier To lie To Us And Put Us The Position Of PROVING Them Wrong.
They'll Stall And Be Uncooperative, Pass The Buck Around While Hoping We'll Just Give Up And Stop Bothering Them With Our Problems ~ I've Been Fighting These SOB'S For Over 3 YEARS To Get A Portable Oxygen Machine, Which I've Qualified For THREE Time And AM Entitled To. Having COPD I've Been Stuck In The House Without One For Many Years. ~
And Can Only Travel To And From Medical Appointments, And Must Be Placed In A Van Which Accommodates Wheel Chairs. ~~ And THIS Is One Of The MINOR Issues~!~
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SGT Joseph Gunderson
I think this is an issue government-wide. If one is going to work for the federal government--or really any level of government--there should be grave consequences for substandard performance or violations of law/procedures.
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A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney
SGT Joseph Gunderson -
OH ~~ And That's Another Issue... All VA's Health Care Is NOT The Same.. .Each Individual VA Medical Facility Has "XX" Number Of Dollars To Spend On Medical Equipment And Medications, Etc. ~ THEY Individually Decide On What WLL Be Available And What Will NOT Be Available ~~ Hang On ~ At THAT Facility But We Vets Are NOT Assigned To Any Of Them, Therefore Are ENTITLED To Medication And Equipment From ANY VA Facility~ World Wide & Unrestricted...I Note This Because The SOB's Will Argue With You BECAUSE They've Been TOLD XXX ~ But Never READ The Actual Document In Print,
~~~~~~ ~~~ COPY ~ PRINT~ SAVE To Your Permanent Files~~~~~~~~
" MY QUESTION":
Is A Military Veteran Entitled To Care And Supplies,
Through ANY VA Facility, Regardless Of Where He Resides"?
"THERE REPLY":
YES, a military veteran can receive medical products from out-of-state VA facilities, even if they are not living there. (Balance REF: Mostly For Over Seas Vets:)
However, the veteran must be eligible for VA care without needing to enroll or be enrolled in VA health care 1. The eligibility for community care is dependent upon a veteran’s individual health care needs or circumstances 1. In most cases, veterans must receive approval from VA prior to obtaining care from a community provider 1. VA staff members generally make all eligibility determinations 1. Please note that VA is not authorized to ship medications or medical/surgical supply items outside of the U.S. or its territories 2. If you’re a veteran who lives overseas, you remain entitled to the benefits and services you earned through your military service. Most VA benefits are payable regardless of your place of residence or nationality 3. If you’re moving outside the U.S., you’ll need to sign up for the Foreign Medical Program. Through this program, VA will pay for certain needed health care services received in foreign countries to treat a service-connected disability or a disability that’s making a service-connected condition worse.
I hope this helps
OH ~~ And That's Another Issue... All VA's Health Care Is NOT The Same.. .Each Individual VA Medical Facility Has "XX" Number Of Dollars To Spend On Medical Equipment And Medications, Etc. ~ THEY Individually Decide On What WLL Be Available And What Will NOT Be Available ~~ Hang On ~ At THAT Facility But We Vets Are NOT Assigned To Any Of Them, Therefore Are ENTITLED To Medication And Equipment From ANY VA Facility~ World Wide & Unrestricted...I Note This Because The SOB's Will Argue With You BECAUSE They've Been TOLD XXX ~ But Never READ The Actual Document In Print,
~~~~~~ ~~~ COPY ~ PRINT~ SAVE To Your Permanent Files~~~~~~~~
" MY QUESTION":
Is A Military Veteran Entitled To Care And Supplies,
Through ANY VA Facility, Regardless Of Where He Resides"?
"THERE REPLY":
YES, a military veteran can receive medical products from out-of-state VA facilities, even if they are not living there. (Balance REF: Mostly For Over Seas Vets:)
However, the veteran must be eligible for VA care without needing to enroll or be enrolled in VA health care 1. The eligibility for community care is dependent upon a veteran’s individual health care needs or circumstances 1. In most cases, veterans must receive approval from VA prior to obtaining care from a community provider 1. VA staff members generally make all eligibility determinations 1. Please note that VA is not authorized to ship medications or medical/surgical supply items outside of the U.S. or its territories 2. If you’re a veteran who lives overseas, you remain entitled to the benefits and services you earned through your military service. Most VA benefits are payable regardless of your place of residence or nationality 3. If you’re moving outside the U.S., you’ll need to sign up for the Foreign Medical Program. Through this program, VA will pay for certain needed health care services received in foreign countries to treat a service-connected disability or a disability that’s making a service-connected condition worse.
I hope this helps
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A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney
SGT Joseph Gunderson -
And P.S : ~~ If You Have ANY Issue With Your Local VA Which Can Not Be Settled Locally.: Give These Folks A Call, In DC ~ They'll; Get On The Case Almost Before Your Phone Hits The Cradle And You're Disconnected From Their Line.
~~VA Hotline Customer Service Representative at:
[login to see] .
Washington, D.C.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ They Move Things ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~ MORE INFO AT ~ Benefits.Gov ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And P.S : ~~ If You Have ANY Issue With Your Local VA Which Can Not Be Settled Locally.: Give These Folks A Call, In DC ~ They'll; Get On The Case Almost Before Your Phone Hits The Cradle And You're Disconnected From Their Line.
~~VA Hotline Customer Service Representative at:
[login to see] .
Washington, D.C.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ They Move Things ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~ MORE INFO AT ~ Benefits.Gov ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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They do seem to act that we do not have jobs and just sit around for VA appointments.
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A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney
Here's What I've Noticed Since Day 1.
You Can Easily Check It Out Too ~ When You Next Have An Appointment,
And It's Scheduled For An Hour ~ Your Care Will Take About 10 - 15 Minutes.
Now They Can Get Pack To Their Backgammon Game
You Can Easily Check It Out Too ~ When You Next Have An Appointment,
And It's Scheduled For An Hour ~ Your Care Will Take About 10 - 15 Minutes.
Now They Can Get Pack To Their Backgammon Game
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SGT Joseph Gunderson
Yeah, it is extremely annoying. Luckily, because I work as a teacher right now, I can put off a lot of my stuff until the summer when I'm free all the time.
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It's hard to pick out just one thing to help improve. Yes, more providers are needed. More nurses, more BH. Those slots go without saying. What a major key issue is location of facility in relation to location of the Vets. In Idaho, a lot of Vets live out in the boonies, and whether they're assigned to Pocatello, or Idaho Falls, many of those Vets have from 20 minutes to 2 hours of a drive.
A good thought would be more staff with more facilities, but that takes money and time. Sadly, I don't see a one all fix all solution anytime soon.
A good thought would be more staff with more facilities, but that takes money and time. Sadly, I don't see a one all fix all solution anytime soon.
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MSG (Join to see)
SrA Cecelia Eareckson look. What I'm getting at is that you automatically down voted me because your "experiences" were not matching my statement. Instead of just simply stating why, you gave a downvote accompanied with response that had no real substance and didn't explain why the downvote was warranted. Not to mention, your initial response was snooty with a dash of insulting mixed in. Had your provided debatable, relative substance right away, we would not be at this junction. You attack first and then get pissy when I fire back.
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MAJ Byron Oyler
SrA Cecelia Eareckson - I have never seen or read MSG (Join to see) write anything disrespectful or rude on this site. He is helpful and provides meaningful comments. I am sorry for the bad things that have happened to you, but being angry at a world and people with no involvement will not make things better. It actually will make people avoid you, and you lose people who would otherwise be on your side.
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SGT Joseph Gunderson
I think reducing administrative staff would free up the resources to have more medical staff.
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Make access to Healthcare EASIER! This is a HUGE issue that is continually being made worse! A vet shouldn't have to fight harder to be cared for than they had to fight the "enemy"!
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A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney
By "Easier" I'm Not Sure What You Mean.
I Live In Vegas And Being Scheduled For And Being Seen By A Doctor
Is Relatively Easy, But It's The Quality Of Our Care That's The Problem.
But Few Vets Know This, Each VA Facility Had A Dollar Budget And THEY Decide What They Will And Will NOT Provide. So When We Hear "Our Vets Get The Best Medical Treatment" ~~ It Means "That We Have Here" ~ Here's Something You May Wish To Copy & Save To Your PERMANENT Files. Because If You Need These Services You WILL Be Argue With You And Told Various Things In Reply Which They've HEARD But Never Seen In WRITING ~ So Here's Your WRITTEN Proof:
~~~Inadvertently Found It Almost 3 Years Ago While Searching The Web ~~~
Sent: 11/25/2023 9:52:08 PM Pacific Standard Time
SUBJECT: Is A Military Veteran Entitled To Care And Supplies,
Through ANY VA Facility, Regardless Of Where He Resides?
~~
YES, a military veteran can receive medical products from out-of-state VA facilities, even if they are not living there.
However, the veteran must be eligible for VA care without needing to enroll or be enrolled in VA health care
1. The eligibility for community care is dependent upon a veteran’s individual health care needs or circumstances
1. In most cases, veterans must receive approval from VA prior to obtaining care from a community provider
1. VA staff members generally make all eligibility determinations
1. Please note that VA is not authorized to ship medications or medical/surgical supply items outside of the U.S. or its territories
2. If you’re a veteran who lives overseas, you remain entitled to the benefits and services you earned through your military service. Most VA benefits are payable regardless of your place of residence or nationality
3. If you’re moving outside the U.S., you’ll need to sign up for the Foreign Medical Program. Through this program, VA will pay for certain needed health care services received in foreign countries to treat a service-connected disability or a disability that’s making a service-connected condition worse 4.
I hope this helps!
I Live In Vegas And Being Scheduled For And Being Seen By A Doctor
Is Relatively Easy, But It's The Quality Of Our Care That's The Problem.
But Few Vets Know This, Each VA Facility Had A Dollar Budget And THEY Decide What They Will And Will NOT Provide. So When We Hear "Our Vets Get The Best Medical Treatment" ~~ It Means "That We Have Here" ~ Here's Something You May Wish To Copy & Save To Your PERMANENT Files. Because If You Need These Services You WILL Be Argue With You And Told Various Things In Reply Which They've HEARD But Never Seen In WRITING ~ So Here's Your WRITTEN Proof:
~~~Inadvertently Found It Almost 3 Years Ago While Searching The Web ~~~
Sent: 11/25/2023 9:52:08 PM Pacific Standard Time
SUBJECT: Is A Military Veteran Entitled To Care And Supplies,
Through ANY VA Facility, Regardless Of Where He Resides?
~~
YES, a military veteran can receive medical products from out-of-state VA facilities, even if they are not living there.
However, the veteran must be eligible for VA care without needing to enroll or be enrolled in VA health care
1. The eligibility for community care is dependent upon a veteran’s individual health care needs or circumstances
1. In most cases, veterans must receive approval from VA prior to obtaining care from a community provider
1. VA staff members generally make all eligibility determinations
1. Please note that VA is not authorized to ship medications or medical/surgical supply items outside of the U.S. or its territories
2. If you’re a veteran who lives overseas, you remain entitled to the benefits and services you earned through your military service. Most VA benefits are payable regardless of your place of residence or nationality
3. If you’re moving outside the U.S., you’ll need to sign up for the Foreign Medical Program. Through this program, VA will pay for certain needed health care services received in foreign countries to treat a service-connected disability or a disability that’s making a service-connected condition worse 4.
I hope this helps!
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SGT Joseph Gunderson
Do you mean just streamlining the process of receiving care or opening care up to veterans presently not qualifying for care?
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Good afternoon SGT Joseph Gunderson. Excellent post. Thanks for sharing this brother Joseph.
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As a clinical psychologist who conducts extensive research on combat trauma, the VA is eliminating the suicide hot line which garnered 50,000 contacts last year!
Rich
Rich
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SSgt Richard Kensinger
SrA Cecelia Eareckson - Have you been able to find some clinical relief from a non VA source?
Rich
Rich
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A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney
Ya Know What Happens When Your Diagnosed With A Mental Condition When There's Nothing Wrong With You And You're Medicated For It Over Multiple Years? It's Like This:
"Ya GO FKING CRAZY" ~ For YEARS~
Thank You.
"Ya GO FKING CRAZY" ~ For YEARS~
Thank You.
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The unbelievably long wait for claim processing and the appeals process.Im starting a second claim based on new information and will retain counsel this go around.My first claim is in the appeals now for 7 YEARS! This comes after their C&P physician gave me a thumbs up only to be denied.I requested a hearing and have been waiting 5 years.UNSAT.
The VA itself needs better doctors and less red tape.It needs much more preventative care and faster access to appointments.Enticing physicians that are highly skilled and qualified that can compete with top tier medical institutions and practices.This is my opinion and it’s not always the case;the VA attracts practitioners who can’t make it in the open private market so they settle at the VA and do whatever they want without repercussions.Dental care is one of the most important aspects of overall medical care and preventing associated illnesses and needing service connection for just that is ridiculous.Im grateful for the VA but I’m just addressing the issues that I know others would like to see addressed.Semper Fi!
The VA itself needs better doctors and less red tape.It needs much more preventative care and faster access to appointments.Enticing physicians that are highly skilled and qualified that can compete with top tier medical institutions and practices.This is my opinion and it’s not always the case;the VA attracts practitioners who can’t make it in the open private market so they settle at the VA and do whatever they want without repercussions.Dental care is one of the most important aspects of overall medical care and preventing associated illnesses and needing service connection for just that is ridiculous.Im grateful for the VA but I’m just addressing the issues that I know others would like to see addressed.Semper Fi!
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A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney
It's ONLY Been 3 Years ATTEMPTING To Get A Portable Oxygen Machine. A Minor Request And For Which I've Needed And Did Qualify For. 3 Times
A: I Have COPD
B: I'm Entitled To Have It.
C: Medically Had To Qualify (tested) 3 Times ~ Once Every 11 Months,.
D: Prescription Has Been Written
E: So Where In "L" Is It? ~~ Nobody Seems To Know,
But I Certainly Don't Have It ~ And I've Been Stuck In This House For OVER 20 YEARS.
Except To And From Medical Appointments In A Van Designed For Wheel Chair Patients.
A: I Have COPD
B: I'm Entitled To Have It.
C: Medically Had To Qualify (tested) 3 Times ~ Once Every 11 Months,.
D: Prescription Has Been Written
E: So Where In "L" Is It? ~~ Nobody Seems To Know,
But I Certainly Don't Have It ~ And I've Been Stuck In This House For OVER 20 YEARS.
Except To And From Medical Appointments In A Van Designed For Wheel Chair Patients.
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SGT Joseph Gunderson
That's pretty crazy. I had a reevaluation in October 2020 and received a decision that December.
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I live OCONUS and am under FMP. When I get any info from the VA which had a time limit on it depending on "the date of the letter", normally 3 - 4 weeks has passed from the 60 days I have to make an appointment or what ever. First thing I must do is file for an extension because time runs too fast and getting appointments and such is a real pain because I live in Denmark and usually have to get an appointment in Germany. Time limits need to be different for us living OCONUS on FMP.
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SGM Mikel Dawson
SGT Joseph Gunderson - I have tried. Things like this are cut in stone and I have no idea how to change it.
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